Episode 133: Mountaineers Are Always Weird with Jason Ruehl

“Mountaineers Are Always Weird” Digital cartoon by Barbara Fisher 2023

Before anyone corrects my Latin up there—-yes, I know “Weirdi” is not Latin for “weird.” That would be “cerritulus.” The reason I didn’t go with that was simple: The West Virginia State motto is “Montani Semper Liberi”—”Mountaineers are Always Free. “

”Liberi” and “Weirdi” sound similar, so there we are. It’s funny. There’s the joke

The art is also a pastiche of the state flag of West Virginia, which you can see here, along with a discussion of all the symbols.

Enough with history. On to our guest, Jason Ruel.

A fellow West Virginia Native, Jason does the Esoteric Book Club Podcast. He has a history degree, he teaches kids woodcraft and lore and is a true son of the mountains.

Bigfoot, monsters, ghosts, ghost lights and. more show up in this episode.

He comes with lots of stories to tell and we didn’t even scratch the surface of them. Don’t worry, though, because he’ll be coming back!

Enjoy!